Chapter 123: Enlightenment

Kachi’s breath and hands trembled uncontrollably. Grasping his own cheeks, the inner surface of his blood-red eyelids turned outward, voicing his boundless fury. “You killed... my brother! It was you... who killed... my... aah! I will kill you!”

Kachi stomped the ground fiercely, causing the earth to crack inch by inch. His body shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. Whether it was an illusion or not, people seemed to see the air twisting around the sharp horn atop Kachi’s head, making it appear crooked. Was it wind attribute? No.

Others thought it was wind, but Hoya knew better—it was fire attribute. The distorted vision was a visual illusion caused by the rapid change in the surrounding air temperature, which altered the refraction index of light.

“It doesn’t look too fierce. I’ll try to block it,” Hoya thought, raising his twin blades in front of him. Kachi, however, showed no intention of changing his attack angle, as if he wanted to break through Hoya’s defense and pierce him through just to relieve his hatred!

To Kachi, although Karen was foolish and weak and often caused him trouble, he was still his own younger brother. They were twin brothers split from the same original body, the only warmth Kachi could feel in that cold, cursed world of annihilation.

Calamities had no parents; they all originated from a sacred place. Only when two original bodies were born simultaneously could their calamities be considered siblings. This was rare. Brothers like Kachi and Karen, split from the same original body, were even rarer.

“Shir forced my brother away. I will kill him someday. You killed my brother with your own hands, so now, die!”

Kachi’s hardened horn slammed against the edge of Hoya’s blade. Hoya immediately felt a numbness in his hand, then was flung backward uncontrollably. His head was about to crash into the arena’s wall.

Hoya spun rapidly in mid-air, planting his feet against the wall, then bent his knees to cushion the impact. But instead of rebounding to counterattack, he landed directly, using the collision to create distance between himself and Kachi.

“Strong and cautious—that’s what a calamity-class looks like,” Hoya murmured with admiration.

The previous collision seemed ordinary, but in fact, Kachi had concentrated his fire ability into a single point, causing an explosion upon impact comparable to a cannon shell. At that moment, Hoya thought he had been hit by a high-explosive thermal weapon. Even after being blasted away, the shockwave didn’t dissipate immediately. Despite his efforts to soften the fall, his leg bones still fractured.

“Very strong, stronger than any calamity I’ve ever seen. Even with my stem cells, I can’t fight him head-on. I must be careful,” Hoya sighed, sheathing the long Demon-Slaying Blade in his right hand, leaving only a straight single blade in his left.

“Why did the boss sheath one blade? What does that mean?” Jiang Feng asked from the stands.

Raimi explained, “It means he feels at a disadvantage and is preparing to defend. The big brother must have told you the difference between single and double blades. Also, notice he sheathed the right-hand blade. The boss is left-handed; normally, he would sheath the left blade and defend with the right, ready to strike with the left in a counterattack. But now, with the single blade in his left hand, it means he wants to focus fully on defense first.”

“So even the president has trouble dealing with calamity-level opponents?” Luo Jiajia said worriedly.

“No, our leader will definitely win!” everyone turned to hear, it was Lu Dingyuan speaking. “Leader” was a rustic nickname Lu Dingyuan used for Hoya.

---

“Xiao Liu, why are you so confident in the boss?” Jiang Feng asked.

Lu Dingyuan scratched his head, grinned, and said, “Because I just placed a bet online. I wagered one hundred thousand solar that the boss will win!”

Alice was surprised. “You have that much faith in my brother? I wouldn’t dare guarantee it!” But then she sensed something odd. “Wait, didn’t you say your family is poor? Where did you get a hundred thousand?”

“Ah? The boss gave it to me. He told me to bet on anything related to him winning today. Whatever I win is mine; if I lose, it’s on him.”

“And then?”

“So I agreed!”

Everyone gasped. That whole sequence was full of questionable points! Where to begin with the criticism? Not to mention Hoya’s obvious attempt to help Lu Dingyuan by virtually “scamming” the system, why was Lu Dingyuan so comfortable agreeing? And the logic of betting on Hoya’s guaranteed victory... Forget it, this guy’s thought process was beyond reasoning.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the stands, Qi Mu anxiously gritted his teeth.

“This is bad. I could still contact Shir a moment ago, but as soon as I confirmed it was him, the connection was cut. This Hoya’s words enraged that idiot, making his subjective consciousness overpower Shir’s. Now, we can’t contact Shir at all. Shir doesn’t even know this is the person the king is looking for, so he can’t control how hard Kachi strikes. Lord Disaster didn’t say this human had to live or die. What if... this idiot really kills him? This is bad, very bad.”

Hoya tried to keep his distance, but Kachi was already raging, ready to tear him apart alive, leaving no chance for respite. He charged fiercely again, this time swinging a fist instead of ramming with his horn.

Knowing this blow would be heavy and powerful, Hoya chose not to block head-on, but to use his opponent’s force against him.

Kachi’s punch came up; Hoya stepped forward with his blade, executing the second form, “Reverse Slash of the Setting Sun.”

His blade slashed diagonally upward. Upon contact with Kachi’s arm, sparks flew. The punch grazed past Hoya’s ear, the scorching fist energy singeing off most of his temple hair and burning his ear until it bled profusely.

Hoya lifted his foot and kicked Kachi’s lower abdomen, sending him flying. The force of this kick was enough to embed an object ten times Kachi’s weight into a wall. But unexpectedly, Kachi twisted mid-air and landed, his feet kicking up a cloud of dust before coming to a stop.

Kachi was about to continue his attack but noticed Hoya’s previously burned ear and temple had fully healed, with only fresh blood marking the injury.

“Self-healing ability? Rare among humans,” Kachi said, tilting his head as if this new perspective let him see things others couldn’t. Strangely, his previous fury faded, and he ceased his frenzied assault.

---

Hoya sneered coldly. “Yes, it’s rare. But I wish everyone had this ability. The human body is fragile—once limbs are severed, they can’t regrow. Our bodies have vital points everywhere and are easy to kill. From the moment we step onto the battlefield, we accept the possibility of sacrifice. If everyone were like me, unafraid of injury, with no weak spots, daring to fight monsters like you head-on, how many would avoid losing family, friends, and loved ones? And you? You monsters who kill and eat humans—before you devour us, don’t you prepare for human vengeance?”

Hearing this, the crowd fell silent. From Hoya’s sharp accusation, they sensed not just his personal anger but the fury of a human, a member of their race, against calamities. Preying on their kin, trampling their homes, destroying their lives—haven’t you prepared to face human retribution?

“Kill him!” Suddenly, someone shouted in the silent arena. The voice was low and many couldn’t catch the words. Then others joined in:

“Yes, kill him!”

“Kill the monster!”

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

That single word “Kill” spread like a spell throughout the stands, from one to ten, ten to a hundred. Gradually, the crowd’s voices unified into a loud, resonant roar. On the field, only Hoya stood, but he carried the will of all present.

The countless calamities who devoured humans—die!

Yet Kachi appeared oblivious to the endless murderous intent around him. Expressionless, he stared at Hoya and finally said something shocking: “What do your human feelings have to do with me? You must understand—we are ‘predators,’ you are ‘prey.’ Predators eat prey. Isn’t that natural? Besides, you—you killed my brother. You should be prepared for my revenge.”

Hoya lowered his head and laughed coldly, a sound tinged with both sorrow and determination. “Is that so? But this time, who is predator and who is prey is hard to say.”

When he finally raised his head, all saw tears of blood streaming from his eyes. His irises were bloodshot, his gaze burning red. Veins bulged on his temples, as if about to burst.

The thirteenth form of the Blood Blade Technique: Thirteenth Form, Burning Lamp—Life-Draining!